Wednesday, May 2, 2007

I'm a Realtor, and I live in Clarendon 1021 a condo in Arlington Virginia.

I put up this page to give those searching for information that you can't find on the MLS. Feel free top post specific questions.If you want to see what is active, go to my site http://www.1021clarendon.com/

While allowing for some bias, Clarendon 1021 is the single envy of all of Arlington.

Walking tour video of Clarendon 1021:

It has the absolute best location with a rare rooftop pool and 24 hour security/concierge. It is unmatched in all of Arlington

(even by The Odyssey since the Odyssey people will be cabbing it in from the Courthouse location to hang out in Clarendon) Clarendon 1021 is one of only 4 condos in the Clarendon area as of 5/08 (Station Square, Clarendon 1021, The Phoenix Condos, and the smaller Hartford . There were going to be a couple others, but they converted to apartments (Le Joule and Zoso).The good:

The rooftop pool and hot tub is amazing in my opinion. Rooftop pools are VERY rare in Arlington, with maybe 10% of the condos being able to boast this. Ours also has an amazing Monument and Capitol view (click to see). However, you should know that the pool is a shallow 3.5 feet and is more for wading then doing laps. Pool hours are posted and currently not 24 hours. Pool parties (photo) on the roof are also a blast and a makes this building the envy of Arlington.

We have a great online message board for residents to talk about issues and get those issues immediately addressed. That board is private until you become an owner.

24 concierge. I just found out that I rank #1 with online purchases in my building. I can't imagine not having somebody at the front desk to get a package. Would I have to go to another building? (View lobby)

Upgraded interiors. Each unit comes with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops in the kitchen and baths. (photo of kitchen)

Location, Location, Location. I have friends that used to rent in Clarendon, but bought in Ballston and Courthouse. While they might have saved $30-$50k, they still hoof it to Clarendon for 80% of their nightlife. And guess what happens (regardless of the market going up or down) when you go and sell your place, it will STILL be worth $30k-$50k more then the same unit elsewhere.

The not great:

It was initially built as an apartment complex and then was sold off to a developer as condos. What that means is every unit's interior is nearly identical (a few floors have lighter cabinets).

It isn't soundproof. Buildings that are initial apartments won't be as quite since it costs more to soundproof. I'm talking about floor to floor foot traffic.

About 6 months ago there was a flooding problem that was pretty severe. I was told it was the worst rainfall in 50 years or something. The roof was since re-designed to drain the water faster. Management was quick to repair the common areas effected to prevent any molding. Experts and the county came out to verify that everything was done properly. Several buildings had this problem after this flood.

No rooftop entertainment room. The builder converted it to a condo at the last second. This kinda sucks, but the rooftop pool makes up for it. We do have a conference room and lounge with free wireless (thanks for a high tech friendly neighbor)

Differences in Units:

Email me for a full size building layout. Applicable for floors 2-8. It will give you an idea which unit # faces where and if it has a balcony and # of BDRs. (photo of 1 unit)

Units with Balconies will get anywhere from 20-$35k more than a same floor, same size unit with no balcony.

There are 4 directions your unit can face. Units facing the courtyard will be $10k-$20k higher than if you face the higher trafficked Washington Street or North Garfield Street.

Morning sun or afternoon sun. Courtyard units get sun in the morning.

Floor level can be about $4k to $8k per floor (not that some "1st floor" units are actually on the 2nd floor and above the B level

Some B level units have walk out access to a patio and courtyard. Easy access for dog owners too. B level units have been slower to sell.

Floorplan differences. The efficiencies start at 600sq ft. 1 BDR start at 700sq feet and go up to 850 with 1 BDR and dens at 900. With the 2 bdrs you have some with 1 and some with 2 full baths.

Watch out when buying:

Watch out for "1 bdrs and Dens" that are listed as 2 Bdrs.

Watch out for units near the entrance. Some were built after the building was completed.

Watch out for $100k overpriced units. This is NOT a "you get what you pay for" place. You can EASILY overpay if you don;'t know the ins and outs of the building. Recently one 2bdr was $100,000 overpriced. There is a long history of price fluctuations in this building. It skyrocketed upon the initial opening with some making $100,000 profits. Now some are trying to make that same $100k, while others are selling for a $30k loss (this is because of the market, not the building).

The address is NOT 1021 Clarendon Blvd. The building is called "Clarendon 1021" but the address is 1021 N Garfield St Arlington Va 22201

Hi,Thank you very much for the information you provided, it is very useful. Given that you are so resourceful, I wonder if could help me to find the listing of rentals in Clarendon 1021. Many thanksFrances

Hey Anonymous,Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I won't edit your comments out, but you are nuts.

I disagree that we have a rep that isn't the best in all of Arlington.

As for purchasers being under water, that is probably true. Most sellers are selling for less than they paid for it, or hoping to break even. But that is due to the Arlington Condo market and has nothing to do with the building itself.

Hey Jeff,I'd love to try to predict, but you can read my other blog on my main site blog.FranklyRealty.com where I talk about how Realtors can't predict the market, just like stock brokers can't pick stocks.

Also don't go around asking Realtors that, many will tell you NOW is the bottom.

And lastly, regardless of the bottom, it doesn't really matter. I don't believe in market timing. I believe in buying and holding for a long enough period of time, that the EXACT bottom doesn't matter.

If you can't walk from Courthouse to Clarendon, you are pretty lazy (cab?). Walking from Barton Place to Clarendon Grill was never a problem. Even VA. Square is only a little over 1/2 mile from the Clarendon metro.

What happens with many new constructions is the builder underestimates the condo-fees to make the building seem more appealing, and they don't create a reserve fund.

So yes, in year 1 we had about a 5-10% hike, but that was mainly to fill up a $400k reserve for future maintenance. The following year we actually dropped our expenditures, but the fees went up about 2% (to fill the reserve).

As for adding hardwoods to the bedrooms? I guess you could, but I don't know anybody that has. As for verifying the 80%, the unit below you would know pretty quickly and management would have to be informed that you were doing the install.

Thanks for writing the blog and answering our questions. They are very helpful.

Do you know any unit at Clarendon 1021 has lower their ceiling to fix the foot step noise from the unit above? I heard this is the only way to fix the floor/ceiling impact noise. I'm just wondering if this fix is allowed at Clerendon 1021.

I haven't ever heard of anybody lowering ceilings here or any other place. The noise does travel, sometimes through many floors. Once somebody was hammering on the 1st floor and I swore it was above me. Took me 20 minutes to find out they were on the second floor.

It would be hard to test out one building versus another to see which makes less noise.

Also if you buy the top floor, that will reduce noise by 80% would be my guess.

NEWSFLASH! 1021's HOTTUB is now functional and 24/7 in the winter. I'm so excited about this.

Anonymous, the spots were initially purchased for $40,000, but you can get some now for as low as $15,000. Some spots are tiny and on the lowest of 3 floors, and some are full sized near the exit. Other options include street parking and a monthly rental in the building or across the street.

As for condo fees they do NOT include gas or electric, and recently water was no longer included. So what is included is the amenities such as the pool and 24 hour person at the front desk.

One of the 2 bedrooms has now dropped $70,000. They are finally getting somewhat realistic. That unit has 2 spots, but I would probably try to buy it with 1 spot. I can explain directly with you exactly why.

Thanks for running the blog. This is very insightful and helpful regarding the building. I'm looking at a unit in 1021 and noticed it had a loud HVAC placed in the living area. I heard this is an issue with many units in the building which hasn't been resolved. Do you have any thoughts?

Yes this has been partially resolved. You have to buy a separate box that runs about $200-$400 that will drop the noise by 50%. I have it in my unit.

If you don't already have an agent, email me and I can tell you1) About 4 units that are not on the market yet2) I can tell you which are the rip offs 3) Which are the best priced units4) And strategies to buy certain units that will save you an additional $20,000 (beyond what we might have been able to negotiate normally)

But you will have to contact me directly (we legally are not allowed to post that stuff online).

Don't miss the blog post on Short Sales (Fake Listings) at http://blog.FranklyRealty.com!

If I get one of those as a listing agent, I say "do your informational purposes inspection AFTER you buy the house."

They are basically a lie. Are you telling me that you wouldn't back out of the deal if you found out that it was falling off a cliff? Give me a break. It is like having your fingers crossed.

Get the freaking inspection, this is a house we are talking about.

The seller will expect it in this market. Make him feel better and knock it out in 2 or 3 days.

Or you can put a clause saying "We will not ask for the first $1,000 of issues if any are found."

That is more realistic than the informational purposes version. This way is more truthfully saying "We will not nickel and dime you, but if your place is a unexpected mess, we can get out of the contract."

i have heard the parking garage in the building is awful to get around. supposedly the garage is filled with speed bumps and the residents choose to park outside (if they can ever find parking) instead of using their very expensive parking spots?

There is a lively debate going on regarding the pros and cons of speedbumps.

I have not heard of one "other" person that parks of the street to avoid speedbumps.

The "other" is me. If there is a prime spot immediately out front, with no meter (based on the time of day) yeah sure, I park there. Not because of speedbumps, but because it is the closest spot and I might only need it for a few hours.

I am in the "anti-speedbumps" camp, for what it is worth. If you buy at 1021, make sure you note where the parking spot is when comparing two units.

Also watch out for units that bought 2 spots up front. They paid $40,000 for their second spot and won't be able to get anywhere near that value now.

Very interesting and informative blog. The market will be down now but it will always come back and I think many of those places will go back up in perceived value since the area seems so nice.

Granted I'm not from the area so take my opinion with a large grain of salt, however, I think this building is(or was) WAY over-priced for what you're getting and where it's located. The initial selling prices are almost Manhattan sized prices for condo-conversions. And as stated and evidenced, apartments are generally thrown together with less finesse than their born-condo counterparts. The issue with the floor/wall noise is a big one IMO and between that and parties on the roof it becomes a very expensive dormitory or frat-house...which may have been the intended marketing angle but even as a young professional if I'm paying that much money I want silence when I want silence.

I would be curious to see how this building fares against others once the market picks back up. I have yet to read about the Phoenix though so maybe my opinion will change.

Hey Lynn,Station Square.I do know one person that rented in 1021 waiting for his unit to be ready in SS. Once he moved, he was disappointed.

That building is also very scattered. There are multiple entrances and I don't think they have 24 security, but I could be wrong.

Their parking is shared with public pay parking. 1021 Parking is exclusively for the building.

Their pool is on the ground level, so all the 9 floors above can look down, and noise travels, so it isn't as good for parties vs a rooftop pool.

They were completed a year later, but purchased a year or two earlier. The purchased prices are much lower, so I have yet to see one foreclosed unit there. Therefore they haven't had the downward pressure on unit.

Unit sizes are up to 10% smaller for a 2/2.

All in all more expensive.

No monument views. (especially no rooftop views)

Pros: 1/2 block closer to metro.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you want to visit some of them.

By the way, 1021 has a 1 bdr and a 2 bdr bank unit coming soon for $100k under other units. But you have to act fast on those.

Great site. Thanks for doing this. I'm renting on the B level. Great unit, but over the past six months a number of cracks have emereged in the walls and ceilings (in the sheetrock). I assume the building is settling, or perhaps it's vibrations from the garage below. Has anyone seen similar cracks on higher floors? I've discussed the possibility of repairs with my landlord, but I'm wondering if the problem is likely to subside or continue. I'm not inclined to ask him to make the repairs until the building has finished settling, if that is in fact the problem.

Normally the cons for a bank owned unit is the lack of upkeep. THey tend to be more worn down. But this is usually only a problem with homes over 10 years. If a condo was built in 2005, how bad can it really be.

So for the most part, there is next to no downside, yet you get it for significantly less.

The next question is inventory. If you want a 1 bedroom and den, but there are no bank units available, but there are 2 regular units, what do you do? If you need one fast, then you have no choice, but I have my clients wait. yes I tell my clients NOT to buy. We then wait for the perfect unit and jump on it within hours.

We just beat out 11 other offers on a bank unit last week. Having an agent that lives in the building and knows what is coming before it comes... priceless.

I've noticed that the 1021 N Garfield St # 506 studio has been on the market for $274,500 for roughly six months. The listing never includes more than the exterior photo of the building. What in the world is wrong with the unit?